I am furious because this sick son-of-a-b!tch attempts to vilify the entire Chinese race by cementing what the PM's aide Nasir Safar first claimed - that the Chinese are merely drunkards, gamblers and prostitutes.

Now, as every self-respecting Malaysian knows, there are heaps of derogatory Chinese jokes out there.

And the Indians and Malays do complain about the Chinese drive and ambition - some valid and some misplaced. I personally have complained that the Chinese in DAP are too sinocentric.

But I have a friend who is a journalist for the mainstream media. She has been involved in a lot of donation drives.

She tells me that some of the most generous people out there are the Chinese, a huge faction of which have donated requesting anonymity.

These Chinese are not doing it for publicity or political mileage. They are genuinely nice individuals concerned about the welfare of others.

So if anyone else tries to make the Chinese look like immoral people, may the fleas of a thousand Afghan camels infest his crotch and may his arms grow too short to scratch it.

Monday, 22 February 2010

If you're anything like me, you must have wondered why the UMNO government is overzealously portraying itself as one that upholds Islamic values.

After all, UMNO is rife with corruption and debauchery and is notoriously avaricious and profligate (yes, I really couldn't resist all those big words that so aptly describe UMNO).

Yet, UMNO falls over itself to cane those who fall short of Islamic rules.

Interestingly, the victims of their suddenly acquired religious zeal have all been women, and they have been and will be caned for having extramarital sex and drinking beer, respectively.

Now I am aware that most religions frown on these less-than-immaculate activities.

But to be caned for these is a bit extreme, methinks. For one, I believe that these are personal issues to be resolved by the individual, and neither the business of any religious body nor the State.

It is even more shocking perhaps, that it is not PAS (the Islamic party of Malaysia) who is calling for these punishments to be meted out, but UMNO, the organisation that has gained a reputation for elevating those two aforementioned activities into an artform.

Did UMNO suddenly turn religious?

That is about as possible as a zebra losing its stripes. Or Rosmah becoming a submissive wife. But I digress.

I think this whole matter is about Anwar Ibrahim. These shenanigans have been orchestrated since they were hankering to put him behind bars again.

It's a wild shot, but I think UMNO is willing to risk a reputation for being religious fanatics in order to frame Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy, which is probably the worst crime any Muslim can think of.

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

which non Indian-based party has so many Indian leaders, and not just now but since its inception - starting with founder Devan Nair to Patto to Peter Dason to Karpal Singh (chairperson) to his sons Gobind Deo & ?, Perak speaker Siva, Kula, Dr Rama (Penang DCM), Dr Xavier, Sivanesam, Manogaran, Charles Santiago, John Fernandez, Gunasegaran etc etc

I do not deny that DAP has many politicians of ethnic Indian origin, and some of them are the country's best.

But it is not about ethnicity. Merely having an Indian in a position of authority within a political party does not automatically mean he/she has an Indian's best interests at heart.

Heck, look at the multitudes of parties, falling over themselves to represent the Indians as described in Who speaks for Indians?

Indeed, Malaysian Indians are the smallest minority with the largest number of political parties (groups) representing them.

Given the state of a huge number of Malaysians of Indian descent, obviously someone isn't doing a good job.

Now on the surface, DAP appears to be very fair and equal in its treatment of all races.

The DAP logo, for instance, has all the 4 main languages embellished on it - supposedly to be all-inclusive. Of course, what it does is exclude those who don't come under the category of Malay, Chinese of Tamil.

While Mandarin is representative of all Chinese, Tamil is what the majority of Indians speak. The rest speak Malayalam, Telegu, Hindi, Punjabi etc.

The move to be inclusive fell flat on its face.

Theoretically, it's noble, but in practice, this sort of symbolism does not mean anything.

The Rakyat need people who can cater to their basic needs. In many cases, it is the need for education, jobs and even basic human rights.

Sometimes, it is forgotten in light of reaching to the majority of voters - a fine line, a tricky balance, but an important one nevertheless.

Monday, 15 February 2010

Water is precious, yet it is being wasted or poorly managed. You can help promote water conservation by sending on this meme. If you do, simply follow these rules:

1. Create a blog entry entitled "Water Conservation Initiative".2. Post the Water Initiative Network's Water Facts in your post.3. List 3 things YOU will do to save water.4. Add in the photo above, or any photo you have taken of a waterfall, river or lake.5. End with the line: "Find out more about water conservation and good governance by joining the Water Initiative Network on Facebook!

Tag 5 or more blog/FB friends. Be sure to copy the rules, okay?

WATER FACTS1. Of every 100 drops of water on earth, 97 are too salty to drink, 2 are locked in ice and snow, and 1 is fresh water.2. The daily requirement for sanitation, bathing, and cooking needs, as well as for assuring survival, is about 50 litres per person.3. Reducing shower time from 20 mins to 8 mins saves up to 360 litres of water per shower.4. A small drip from a faucet can waste as much as 75 litres of water a day.5. Two thirds of the water used in a home is used in the bathroom. To flush a toilet, we use up to 9 litres of water.6. Water-efficient toilets and washing machines are good ways to save water.7. A low-tech way to save water is to form the habit of turning on the tap to low flow and turning it off when the water is not needed.8. Non-revenue water (i.e. stolen or wasted water) constitutes 36% of water 'used' in Selangor, Malaysia, and this raises the cost of water for everyone.9. Water supply infrastructure cost billions of ringgit. This money could be spent in more useful ways.10. Large areas of forests are cleared to make way for water supply dams to accommodate our soaring demand for water. These forests and their wildlife represent our natural heritage.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — Events since New Year’s Day have given the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) the impression that the situation in Malaysia is becoming increasingly unstable.

In a blistering report on Malaysia released at the end of January, PERC also asserted that a group of elite minorities were dominating the national agenda to the extent that it was hurting Malaysia’s attractiveness to investors.

The consultancy, which also publishes reports on the risk ratings of other Asian countries, said it is “probable” that no other Asian country is suffering from as much bad press as Malaysia.

You'd think the government would know when to slink away quietly and lick its wounds in silence.

But no.

They issue a feeble response (albeit with plenty of posturing) that only serves to reiterate what PERC claims, what investors have long suspected and what we, unfortunately, already know.

On my drive back home from work yesterday, the newsreader almost sounded apologetic as she announced the government claims that someone out there has a "hidden agenda", which according to Muhyiddin Yassin is the reason behind this report.

"I think they must be talking through their nose," he said.

Yes, someone is talking through their nose indeed, but it certainly isn't PERC.

For one, I anticipate the Christians and Muslims frowning at the verses he has - in some cases - taken out of context.

Interestingly, the Christian verses that he finds offensive are in fact, the very ones that have once prompted me to question the veracity of the Christian faith.

Like him, I believe nothing is above and beyond question.

And being humans, the least we can do is to conceed that not everyone shares our beliefs and values.

..being offended is a good thing. It encourages you to assess yourself. To ask yourself why you feel offended? To inquire into the root of your distraught. To locate the source of your distress. You are forced to think..

-Aston Paiva

In light of the Asian mentality of not wanting to offend, particularly the Malaysian brand of refraining from broaching "sensitive" issues, I can agree with feeling.

Monday, 8 February 2010

But yes, at least in the military, there are no (or little) glass ceilings for women.

From The Times Of India:

PORT BLAIR: At first glance, Lieutenant Farah al Habshi presents a demure picture, with a hijab around her head, even though she dons the white and blue Royal Malaysian Navy uniform. But appearances, as one learns, can be extremely deceptive.

An engineer by training, a naval officer by profession, young Farah is the deputy weapons and electrical officer on the spanking new Malaysian warship KD Perak. And she is quite articulate to boot, not at all deterred by journalistic questions, some quite personal. "I have no problems serving on a warship with men," says Farah, in her early-20s.

Her presence, and of some other women officers on board foreign warships during the ongoing multilateral Milan exercise here, is a stark reminder that Indian armed forces are still to shatter the glass ceiling for women. Indian women, after all, are not allowed on seafaring warships, cannot fly fighters or serve in combat arms like infantry, armoured corps and artillery.

A predominantly Muslim country, Malaysia has left India far behind in this regard. "We even have a woman fighter pilot, who flies F/A-18s, apart from helicopter pilots," says Farah.

Does it feel claustrophobic to be part of the 91-member crew of KD Perak since there are only two women on board? "No. I have been in the Navy for over two years now. There is no problem. The other women officer and I share a cabin, with an attached bathroom," says the religious Farah, who wears the hijab "by her personal choice".

"Its a good experience just as long as there is no physical contact and bad language. When someone talks funny, I just walk away," she says. Her commanding officer, Captain Ismail Bin Othman, adds, "Our new warships are designed keeping the future in mind to give privacy to women. From deploying them in supporting roles in warships around five years ago, we are moving towards women in purely combat roles."

Recently, five women were commissioned as seamen lady officers.

Some other of the 13 navies taking part in the Milan conclave, like Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh also allow women on warships. "Three-quarters of our warship crew have women on board. They serve in all roles, right from being cooks to commanding warships. A woman at sea can do exactly the same as a man can do," says Lt-Commander Shane Doolin, the captain of Australian warship HMAS Glenelg.

This completely destroys the argument of the top Indian military brass, which holds that there are "operational, practical and cultural" problems in having women officers with permanent commission or deploying them in combat roles.

While women officers have been inducted into armed forces since the early 1990s, the government only last year approved permanent commission for them and that too in only the legal and education branches.

Those in other wings like ordnance, engineering, air traffic control, logistics and the like can even now serve a maximum of only 14 years in uniform. Women, of course, constitute a minority in the predominantly-male environs of the over 13-lakh strong armed forces.

There are just about 1,100 women officers in the over 35,000-strong officer cadre in Army. Similarly, there are 750 women among the 10,500 officers in IAF, with Navy having 180 out of 7,000 officers.

While there are over 60 women pilots in IAF, they fly only transport aircraft and helicopters as of now. IAF top brass believes that in order to have women fighter pilots there will have to be certain pre-conditions like not allowing them to have children till a specified age since it takes Rs 11 crore to train a pilot and tight flying schedules cannot be disrupted. Even if one buys this argument, what about allowing women on warships?

Sunday, 7 February 2010

"Asking the Syariah court to have jurisdiction on the Lina Joy case is wrong because she is not a Muslim," Azmi Sharom postulates.

"It would be like asking me to resolve a personal dispute I may have with Jaya (sitting next to him on the panel) in a military court. Impossible! Because we're not in the military - he's too old and I'm a hippie!"

Monday, 1 February 2010

Now this project is closer to home, because it requires active participation from you.

You won't get tear-gassed or sprayed with chemicals for this, I can assure you. But making a stand - walking the talk - can be a little intimidating, especially if it involves bureaucratic government servants.

It's about those pesky little forms we've been filling out since the dreaded UPSR exam. I presume it started prior to that, but my parents did the dirty deed for me back then.

You know the questions that those forms ask? The questions that really don't need to be asked? About sex, race and religion?

They've irked me for so long. Evidently, they irritate my friend Pat, as well. Pat is quite a character and if we had more people like her, we could really get this ball rolling.